“And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 11:6 Mean?
"The Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly." Saul's first Spirit-empowerment is triggered by hearing about the Ammonite threat to Jabesh-gilead. The Spirit produces anger — righteous fury at the injustice Nahash proposed (gouging out the right eye of every man in the city — verse 2). The Spirit and the anger arrive together. The divine empowerment manifests as justified rage.
The phrase "when he heard those tidings" means the Spirit responds to information: Saul hears about the threat, and the hearing produces the filling. The Spirit comes upon Saul in response to injustice reported. The empowerment is triggered by the news of someone else's suffering.
This is Saul at his best: Spirit-filled, righteously angry, and immediately decisive (verse 7 — he cuts oxen into pieces and sends them throughout Israel as a mobilization summons). The early Saul — empowered by the Spirit, driven by righteous anger, leading with decisive action — is the king Israel hoped for.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What injustice produces righteous anger in you that might be Spirit-driven?
- 2.How does the Spirit sometimes manifest as fury rather than peace?
- 3.What does Saul's early best (Spirit-filled, decisive) contrasted with his later worst teach about squandered empowerment?
- 4.What decisive action does your righteous anger require right now?
Devotional
The Spirit came on Saul and he got angry. The divine empowerment arrived as righteous fury. The filling manifested as rage at injustice. The Spirit and the anger were the same event.
This is the Spirit's work that comfortable religion doesn't talk about: sometimes the Spirit produces anger. Not gentle peace. Not quiet contemplation. Fury. The kind of anger that hears about someone gouging out people's eyes and says: not while I'm king. The righteous rage that the injustice report produces in a Spirit-filled person is itself a sign of the Spirit's presence.
Saul at this moment is exactly what Israel needs: a leader who hears about suffering and is moved to action by divine anger. He doesn't form a committee. He doesn't write a diplomatic letter. He cuts up oxen, sends the pieces across the country, and says: come fight or this is what happens to your cattle (verse 7). The response is immediate, dramatic, and effective.
The tragedy of Saul's story is that this Spirit-empowered, righteously angry, decisively acting king becomes the paranoid, disobedient, God-abandoned king of later chapters. The same man. The same Spirit (which will later depart — 16:14). The best version of Saul and the worst version share the same body.
What righteous anger has the Spirit kindled in you — what injustice has produced divine fury through your response? And are you acting on it with Saul's early decisiveness? The Spirit's anger isn't for contemplation. It's for mobilization.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings,.... And filled him with pity and compassion to the…
This time the Spirit of God came upon him, as upon the Judges before him, as a Spirit of supernatural energy and power.
The Spirit of God came upon Saul - He felt himself strongly excited to attempt the relief of his brethren.
And his anger…
What is here related turns very much to the honour of Saul, and shows the happy fruits of that other spirit with which…
the spirit of God came upon Saul The Heb. for "came upon" describes a sudden and pervading impulse. (Sept. ἐφήλατο :…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture